Mark Williams v Mark Allen: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The second semi-final of this year's Tour Championship will take place at Manchester Central on Saturday as Mark Williams and Mark Allen lock horns for a place in the final.

Both players produced eye-catching performances to reach the last four, with Williams rattling off six of the last seven frames to power past Judd Trump 10-4, while Allen came from 6-3 and 8-7 behind to beat Ding Junhui 10-8 in their quarter-final tie.

Neither of these two players have ever lifted the Tour Championship title before and Williams, who is through to the semi-finals for the first time, is priced at 13/2 to go all the way, while 2020 runner-up Allen is a 7/2 outright shot.

Mark Williams v Mark Allen betting tips and predictions

Mark Allen -1.5 frames - 5/6

It has been another solid season for world number three Allen, who followed up his successes at the Shoot Out and non-ranking Champion of Champions before Christmas by landing February's Players Championship crown.

En route to winning the Players, Allen beat Williams in the first round 6-3 and the Pistol does hold the advantage in previous meetings between these two players, triumphing in 14 of the 22 such encounters.

Most of Allen's wins over Williams have come in recent years, as he has emerged victorious in 10 of their last 12 meetings, with three of his previous four successes over the Welshman coming by more than a two-frame margin.

Allen is capable of landing another victory by at least two frames on Saturday, especially as he has already seen off John Higgins and Ding by at least that margin to set up this showdown with Williams.

Williams certainly looked good on his way to beating this season's form player Trump in the quarter-finals, but he was far less convincing in his first-round clash with Tom Ford, edging that one in a final-frame decider.

It has been a challenging few months for the Welsh Potting Machine, as this is the first time he has made it beyond the quarter-final of a ranking event since lifting the British Open at the start of October.

The 49-year-old had only won one match at his three previous ranking events prior to arriving in Manchester, a run that includes his first-round defeat to Allen at the Players, and although he may have played his way into some kind of form this week, it is difficult to see him overcoming his opponent on Saturday.

Allen is capable of triumphing in this match with something to spare, which could be important given the winner of this semi-final tie will have a day less to prepare for Sunday's final than the player they will face in that showpiece - Ronnie O'Sullivan or Gary Wilson.

Mark Allen to make three centuries - 15/4

Another statistic that suggests Allen is heading into this semi-final in better form than Williams is the amount of century breaks the two players have made at this week's Tour Championship.

Allen has accounted for six of the 16 centuries scored at the event up to the semi-final stage, including notching the highest break of the tournament so far with his 142 in frame 10 of his match with Ding.

By contrast, Williams has only made one century this week, a knock of 112 against Ford, while the Welshman could only muster two breaks above 50 on his way to beating Trump in what proved to be a scrappy contest.

That contrasting break-building form certainly suggests Allen is the more likely of the two players to score big on Saturday and, after making three centuries when facing both Higgins and Ding, he is 15/4 to repeat that trick against Williams.

It is also worth noting that Allen will come into the match off the back of sealing his victory over Ding with a knock of 127, underlining that century scoring is not a problem for the Northern Irishman even when the pressure is on.

Read more snooker betting tips and predictions on site

Mark Williams v Mark Allen odds

Mark Williams - 13/10
Mark Allen - 8/13

View the full market and more odds for Mark Williams v Mark Allen on site

Read Mark Williams v Mark Allen how to watch, TV channel, head-to-head stats, team news and more on site

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.